Euan Morton to Star in Ford’s Theatre Society’s Parade; 2011-2012 Season Announced

Tony Award nominee Euan Morton will star as Leo Frank in the Washington premiere of the musical drama, Parade, which Ford’s Theatre Society will co-produce with Theater J, on the Ford’s mainstage, September 23-October 30.

Featuring a book by Alfred Uhry, with music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown, the musical was co-conceived by Harold Prince. It tells the true story of Leo Frank’s trial and lynching in early 20th-century Atlanta. Ostracized for his faith and Northern heritage, Jewish factory manager Leo Frank is accused of murdering a teenaged factory girl the day of the annual Confederate Memorial Day parade.

The production — to be directed by Stephen Rayne, with choreography by Karma Camp — is part of Ford’s Theatre Society’s newly announced Lincoln Legacy Project, a five-year initiative to feature mainstage productions and community conversations addressing tolerance, understanding and civil rights.

During the run of Parade, there will be a series of Signature events on Monday evenings that will address topics related to the issues surrounding the 1913 Leo Frank trial as dramatized in the show. Event topics include A Gathering of “Others:” A Conversation about Being “Different” in America; Jews and Race Relations in the South; A Town Hall Meeting: What Does it Mean to be Different?; and a special event for young audiences to be led by the Ford’s Theatre Society Education Department and a committee of Legacy Project partner organizations.

Additional productions in the Society’s 2011-2012 season will include A Christmas Carol, adapted from Charles Dickens’ classic story by Michael Wilson, and featuring direction by Michael Baron with original staging recreated by Mark Ramont (November 18-December 31); a newly commissioned (and as-yet untitled) play about Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, written by Richard Hellesen and directed by Jennifer L. Nelson (January 20-February 12); and the patriotic musical classic by Peter Stone and Sherman Edwards, 1776, to be directed by Peter Flynn, with choreographyby Michael Bobbitt (March 9-May 19).

For tickets and more information, click here.